The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of winter-hardy Hibiscus, or Rose Mallow, botanically known as Hibiscus moscheutos, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name `Plant No. 179`.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Park Ridge, Ill. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Hibiscus cultivars having large flat flowers with overlapping petals, long-lasting flowers, long flowering period and attractive flower colors.
The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor in Park Ridge, Ill., of the nonpatented Hibiscus moscheutos cultivar `Red Plate`, as the female, or seed, parent with the nonpatented Hibiscus moscheutos cultivar `Bills's Giant White` as the male, or pollen, parent.
The cultivar `Plant No. 179` was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Park Ridge, Ill. in 1993.
Compared to plants of the male parent, the cultivar `Bill's Giant White`, and the female parent, the cultivar `Red Plate`, plants of the new Hibiscus have larger flowers, flatter flowers, a longer flowering period, maintain the flat flower shape longer and differ in flower color.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by root crown divisions and by terminal and stem cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Park Ridge, Ill., has shown that the unqiue features of this new Hibiscus are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.